We sit down with Robert de la Chevotière ahead of the August 25, 2026 release of his novel The Twelfth House; a literary work steeped in West African folklore and magical realism. At its center is Etta, an ogbanje: a spirit trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, whose desperate will to live pulls her father Bako from the coast of Benin onto a slave ship bound for colonial Dominica. We talk with Robert about writing unflinchingly about slavery while still leaving room for lyricism and beauty; about the mountains, forests, and ancestral ocean that act as living characters in the book, and about villains who are complicated rather than simply "evil."

Robert discusses teaching middle school after burnout, and what it meant for Robert to feel like Etta "took the pen" from him mid-draft. Along the way we dig into reincarnation as a metaphor for diaspora, the dedication to Wai'tukubuli (the Kalinago name for Dominica), and the uneasy line between allyship and complicity. It's a conversation about memory, resistance, and what we owe the dead.

Guest Contact & Social Media

• Author website: robdelabooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robdelawrites/
• Preorder 'The Twelfth House' (Before August 25th, 2026): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-twelfth-house-robert-de-la-chevotiere/1149880270?ean=9781645662037
• Audible author page: https://www.audible.com/author/Robert-de-la-Chevotiere/B0F1MYKPNP

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

We record this one crammed into a sweltering camper with the AC off during a heat wave, accidentally running the most honest apocalypse simulator we've ever tried and quickly learn the real survival threat isn't zombies, it's summer. Forgotten bug spray turns the outdoors into a West Nile virus exclusionary zone full of diseased monsters that want to eat us alive.

Leah apologizes for everything she said while she was suffering from a mild heat stroke, Dan regrets nothing but the audio quality.

Relevant Links / Resources

• Yonge Street history & "longest street" myth — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonge_Street
• Yonge Street Guinness World Records entry (background on the claim) — https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/62917-longest-street

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

This is an unfiltered check-in where the laptops stay closed and we just talk like the two zombie-obsessed humans we are, and discuss an internet video of a man de-veigning a snickers bar to make Jesus happy.

We have two big community updates: a new Kickstarter for the Path of the Pale Rider trade paperback (issues 5–8), and our next book club pick, Intercepts by T.J. Payne; a novel that hooked us so hard we couldn't stop reading until it was finished.

Then we swing into a full teardown of Zombie Nightmare, calling out what doesn't hold up; racist framing, misogyny, and assault played for plot; before widening into camper life, remote work on the road, and the small joys keeping us upright through a heavy news cycle. We close on the stuff a lot of people are sitting with right now: politics, protest, direct action, and how loaded words like "terrorism" get weaponized. Lick the Snick, everyone!

Relevant Links:

Path of the Pale Rider Kickstarter Trade Paperback 5-8: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pathofthepalerider/path-of-the-pale-rider-trade-paperback-5-8

Intercepts by T.J. Payne — publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/833286/intercepts-by-t-j-payne/

T.J. Payne's author site: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayne

Zombie Nightmare (1986/87) — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_Nightmare

MST3k Zombie Nightmare (1994) — Fandom https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/Zombie_Nightmare_(film)

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com